


and you among the stardust

by sprbs



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Astronomer Seungmin, Changbin really adores Seungmin and you can tell, Chanlix if you squint very hard, Festivals, First Dates, Hyunjin is the prince, Kissing, M/M, Palace Guard Changbin, confident seungmin, meteor showers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28380531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sprbs/pseuds/sprbs
Summary: Changbin finally manages to drag Seungmin out of his observatory to attend the kingdom's annual Festival of Stars--a little magic happens.
Relationships: Kim Seungmin/Seo Changbin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 55
Collections: SKZ Secret Santa 2020





	and you among the stardust

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Canocanopus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canocanopus/gifts).



> hello recipient! i struggled a bit with the premise of this fic but i eventually took your suggestion of astronomy and ran a little with it. i hope you can find something you like in this fic, and happy belated holidays!!!
> 
> thanks to n & f & my boyfriend for helping me edit this, ily guys.
> 
> **title changed from 'a song of the stars' to 'and you among the stardust', taken from exo's cosmic railway.

Seungmin’s fingertips brush the side of Changbin’s hand. Despite the air nipping at their skin, whispering of a frosty winter just around the corner, Seungmin’s skin radiates heat like sunshine peeking through the clouds. It sends Changbin’s heart up to his throat, which melts and drips back down into his chest like molasses.

The taller peers down at him, blinking prettily behind the lenses of his glasses, his lips curled into an even prettier smile. It’s not radiant, rather gentle, but it steals Changbin’s breath all the same.

“Is everything alright?” Seungmin asks through a smile. His voice is barely above a whisper but the quiet autumn night carries his voice to Changbin’s ears; he shivers. Changbin’s cheeks redden like Seungmin can read his thoughts, can know just by looking at him how much of his mind is consumed by Seungmin and only Seungmin.

Changbin laughs while nodding.

“The stars are beautiful,” Seungmin remarks as he gapes up at the sky. He’s right, Changbin thinks, as he too stares at the spattering of sparkles across the otherwise black sky. Thousands of stars twinkle like little fairies, and in this very moment, Changbin understands Seungmin’s passion for the cosmos and charting the stars.

“Just like you,” Seungmin finishes after a long moment of flicking his eyes over the inky sky and he smirks when Changbin rips his eyes away to gaze at him. Changbin’s cheeks pinken, scorching, like they’re full of molten lava. He detests how easily such words tug at his heartstrings,  _ contempts  _ the warmth that pools in the deepest pits of his stomach— but this is Seungmin, after all.

For the time he’s known Seungmin, he’s always been straightforward; he has certainly never been timorous in his subtle advances towards Changbin. This Seungmin, however, was much more carefree to woo Changbin any way he’d like, away from the prying eyes of their friends and other palace staff. Even if the way his heart beats in his chest reminds him of the nomadic trapeze artists that make annual visits to the palace, he finds he enjoys it.

“Oh, hush,” Changbin murmurs in response, shoving Seugmin’s arm with no true force. It earns him a pretty, twinkling laugh that gently caresses his ears, arguably more musical than any of the tunes the court musicians play.

He feels another gentle tap against his hand and he looks down. This time, the brush was not accidental. Seungmin holds out his hand, palm-up and ready for Changbin to take. He blinks down at the younger’s nimble fingers, still soft and very much unlike Changbin’s hands that are rough with calluses from years of guard work.

Changbin must spend far too much time gaping because Seungmin taps his hand again with a laugh and says, “Are you going to take my hand or are you going to keep staring? My hand isn’t going to float away if you take your eyes off it.”

With a half-hearted grumble about mean, overgrown dogs pretending to be human, Changbin finally slots his fingers between Seungmin’s. He winces when his clammy palm slides against Seungmin’s much drier (and dare he say,  _ too dry)  _ but the taller man doesn't comment on it, instead tugging Changbin’s very willing body towards the growing crowd ahead.

Changbin grins. Seungmin— who is more often than not secluded in his observatory so long he forgets his meals— is confident in his pursuit of Changbin, and Changbin is  _ envious.  _ He wishes for confidence rather than spluttering and blushing from Seungmin’s flirtations; a palace guard must be steely and stoic rather than swayed like a sapling by one pretty boy.

Despite the bustling volume radiating from the crowd, the festival has yet to begin. It’s the prince’s duty to announce the coming of dusk, and  _ then  _ the Festival of Stars begins. 

Fond memories of festivals of the past flicker in Changbin’s imagination; his father lifting him as a young boy, only old enough to play with a wooden sword; his older sister shoving him into mud during a torrential downpour one year as a teenager; his mom entrusting him with her secret tree, finger pressed to her lips in a hush as her hair sways in the breeze, one of his earliest memories. This is Changbin’s favorite time of year.

Seungmin stops in his tracks just before the pretty archway that denotes the entrance to the festival and looks back at Changbin, his eyes twinkling in a question. It makes Changbin laugh. For all his confidence, Seungmin has never attended the Festival of Stars. Changbin tugs Seungmin towards the largest gathering of people, mulling about around the stage in the center of the festival.

The two stop at the edges of the crowd where the citizens begin to fray, waiting for the prince to formally begin the night’s festivities. Changbin can see him now; hidden from the view of common folk ducking under a canopy half-concealed by wooden crates, but obvious to a palace guard’s trained eye. 

Prince Hyunjin walks from beneath the canopy, throwing a quick nod to his subjects, who hush the moment his blond hair enters their view. Changbin feels a tickling behind his ear, sending a shiver down his spine, and then a whisper. “He looks so princely, but I guarantee you he was just about to personally execute Jisung. With only his hands, ” Seungmin whispers with a laugh. Changbin doesn’t dare turn his head towards the other male, but he does crack a smile.

He can imagine it now; Jisung’s insistence on following Hyunjin upstage to stand guard (it’s clear he claimed victory from that battle, if the smug grin on his face as he trails a few paces behind Hyunjin is any indication. Han Jisung is nothing if not proud.) and Hyunjin’s counter that he doesn’t need a personal guard at an annual festival of all places, since it’s impersonal and sends the wrong message to his subjects about his faith in them. They’ve squabbled about it many times in the weeks of preparations. 

(He laughs as he recalls a specific moment where Chan had to restrain Jisung from tackling Hyunjin to the cool marble floors of the palace’s grand dining room. Needless to say, the king hadn’t been pleased by the prince’s personal guard endangering his only son.)

Changbin whispers this back to Seungmin as Hyunjin takes the stage with Jisung, who stands behind him and to his left. The taller lets out a melodious laugh as Changbin makes eye contact with Jisung, who wiggles his brows subtly. Changbin rolls his eyes in response.

“Welcome, citizens of our wonderful kingdom of Levanter! Tonight begins the festivities of the annual  _ Festival of Stars.  _ Dusk is quickly approaching, so I ask you all to have a safe and wonderful celebration for the wellbeing of everyone. Our kingdom astronomer—” Hyunjin nods towards Seungmin, who beams back at him. Changbin squeezes his hand, knowing the astronomer spent hours charting and tracking comets in the months leading up to the festival, “—predicted tonight’s starshower to be in approximately 2 hours. With that, I wish you all a wonderful evening, and let the festivities begin!”

The crowd roars the moment the prince’s last word leaves his pretty lips, and even quicker does Jisung usher Hyunjin off stage with a cheeky grin. Changbin watches as Jisung leads him away towards the canopy he was originally under, no longer obscured from view.

Seungmin squeezes his hand with a soft laugh, and Changbin realizes he’s been staring aimlessly towards the prince and his guard. “Relax,” Seungmin murmurs as he tugs Changbin towards the movement of the crowd, even if he has no idea where he’s going. “You’re off duty, so stop fretting about Hyunjin’s safety. Jisung is perfectly capable of protecting him— if anything, he’ll kill Hyunjin before an assassin does.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Changbin responds, tearing his eyes away from the canopy with a laugh..

With Jisung and the prince lodged in the furthest recesses of his mind, Changbin finally lets his eyes wander. Merchants behind stalls kindle candles against the gentle autumn breeze and hang their warm light to beckon the festival goers towards their wares. One man entices a pretty noblewoman with shining celestial-themed jewelry, gemstones twinkling against the glow of the lantern. Palace chefs advertise their specialities: cakes in the shapes of stars and moons; sweet dark wines swirling like the night sky; dishes so spicy your mouth will slough off your face.

“I want to find Felix,” Seungmin says, voice almost lost in the buzz of the festival. “He hinted to me he would be running a stall tonight and that he’d separate some of whatever he is selling. I assume he’d be selling his special desserts?” Changbin laughs at the excitement in his voice and the skip in his steps as he searches for their freckled friend.

Changbin actually spots him first. Felix is laying out pretty cakes on the front counter of his stall, a plethora of flavors and a rainbow of colors. He can see the curly mop of Chan’s hair from afar as he leans against the stall and talks to Felix. Changbin laughs and tugs Seungmin in their direction, holding tight onto his hand.

Chan is not at all inconspicuous as he startles and jumps away from his close distance to the younger, but much like Seungmin, he is subtle as the bricks that lie to form the winding pathway to the castle entrance. The only difference is that Felix, the poor soul, has convinced himself the elder’s intentions are elsewhere.

Felix looks up at Chan’s startle and his eyes meet Changbin’s, who grins at them.

“Changbin and Seungminnie,” he says when the two are within earshot. “I was waiting for you guys to arrive!” He bends down to pull a covered platter from the shelves and presents it to Changbin and Seungmin. “I saved these for you two before the festival becomes too crowded, special request from Seungmin who sneaks into the kitchens to pilfer my treats more times than you know. I sold my entire stock within half an hour last year’s festival!” He sets the back in a small cloth sack and ties a knot at the opening, then formally presents it to the pair. “Here you are. Have fun on your date, don’t be too reckless!”

Changbin coughs, cheeks reddening. Seungmin doesn’t bat an eye as he takes the desserts and bids Chan and Felix farewell as he leads Changbin to another interesting stall.

—

Full from Felix’s sweets and other traditional snacks of their kingdom, Seungmin and Changbin are pleasantly sated despite the nipping autumn air. In no time, the Starshower’s hour creeps upon them.

“Seungminnie,” Changbin mumbles, suddenly bashful. Seungmin makes a noncommittal noise with a skewer hanging from his lips. “Do you think it’s time to begin preparing to watch the Starshower? I want to take you to the most wonderful viewing location, if you’ll allow me.” His confidence leaps with every word. “I would love to share a special part of my life with you.”

The younger nods cutely and grins around the skewer, eyes curving into crescents.

As Changbin leads Seungmin away from the center of the festival, their hand-holding deteriorates into a mere interlocking of a few fingers. It comforts the tingling nerves pooling in Changbin’s stomach all the same as he pulls Seungmin towards his favorite Starshower spot.

The tree is an oak with thick, winding roots, and with autumn brandishing crimson leaves that sway gently in the breeze. His mother led him to this spot when he was young, still a few years off from his guard training. He’d promised her he would withhold her secret and never tell a soul, but Seungmin has wormed his way into his heart right beside her, and he knows she would have been happy to see that Changbin can finally trust someone enough to take them here.

It’s a little ways away from the center of the festival, so Changbin leads Seungmin down a meandering path that weaves through the edge of the orchard.

When the tree’s thick trunk comes into view, Changbin gasps as if this were the first time he’d seen it. “Come on,” he says softly, increasing the pace of his footsteps as he looks back at the astronomer with a grin. “We’re almost there, Seungmin.”

The two step away from the orchard and walk under the swishing canopy of Changbin’s favorite oak tree. “We’re here,” Changbin sighs out as his eyes flutter shut, his smile widening as nostalgia washes over him like a silk sheet.

“Just in time,” replies Seungmin, who peers up at the night sky. “It appears that the Starshower is going to begin shortly.” Changbin nods, yet doesn’t begin to understand how Seungmin can determine that. In lieu of a verbal response, he leads Seungmin to the grassy spot that provides the clearest view of the sky.

Here, the horizon stretches as far as the eye can see, a dark ocean with waves of stars and constellations.

“It’s beautiful here.” Seungmin gapes at the ink that consumes them from all corners, mouth hanging open wide and eyes blinky. “I can see why your mother thought this was special.” He smiles up at Changbin, who returns the gesture as he sits next to the younger. Within moments Seungmin fingers intertwine with his own, and the astronomer rests them in his lap.

“It should start any moment now,” Seungmin murmurs like the sky is made of glass, threatening to shatter at the slightest noise too loud. His eyes flick across the sky, waiting for the first shooting star like an excited child with their face pressed against the bakeries’ dessert cases.

Suddenly, Seungmin gasps and his free hand points to the sky. Changbin follows the line of his finger and grins when his eyes finally lock with the shooting star falling from the heavens, the first of many, many, to come tonight.

“Changbin,” Seungmin says breathlessly. He pauses a moment before continuing. “I don’t know why I never attended the festival all these years. Only one shooting star and my heart is pounding in my chest.” He lifts the hand laced with Changbin’s so the elder can feel the thud of his heart against his ribcage. Changbin’s heartbeat rivals that of the astronomer, whose pretty, smiling face is outlined by the moonlight.

Changbin grins. Pulling Seungmin away from the throes of his astronomy work and away from the confines of his observatory was his doing, albeit the prince’s idea, Changbin’s subconscious begrudgingly admits. His subconscious does little to quell the pride swelling within his chest.

“Thank you,” Seungmin breathes out.

As if Seungmin’s appreciation were a fuse, the sky explodes with shooting stars. Hundreds traverse down the night sky, leaving white trails in their wake. 

“Of course,” Changbin replies absentmindedly.

Changbin is only able to hear his heart beat in the silent night, its deep bass drum dwarfing the crickets chirping in the vast field before them. Seungmin’s grip on his hand strengthens, and he instinctively squeezes back.

With only nature and the inky sky to surround them, Changbin feels like they are the only two humans left on Earth. The vast ocean of space twinkling before them makes him feel the size of a single speck of dust left behind on a clean cabinet top. He feels insignificant in the grand scheme of the world and the infiniteness that might lie beyond his simple understanding, but his grip on Seungmin’s hand that tightens ever-so-slightly tethers him back to reality. He is here, he is real, and Seungmin is by his side.

“Hey, Changbin?” comes Seungmin’s voice after a long while of gazing at the sky, small in the night’s deafening silence. Changbin doesn’t rip his eyes away from the sky, but gives a noncommittal hum. “Changbin,” Seungmin repeats, more insistent. Cool fingers glide across the slope of his jawline and one hooks behind his ear. Seungmin guides his face so the two can make eye contact.

Static sparks don’t travel between them when their eyes meet, nor does Changbin’s heart burst from his ribcage. But his cheeks redden as what little heat from Seungmin’s palm seeps into his skin, and he finds himself instinctively leaning into his touch. The smile he earns in response is brilliant.

The pad of Seungmin's thumb runs over Changbin’s plump lower lip and he smiles. His other hand detaches itself from Changbin’s then, joining the other in cupping Changbin’s face. He lets free a deep albeit shaky breath as Seungmin guides their faces together; he knows what’s coming, prepares himself for it even, but nothing could possibly prevent the warmth blooming his chest with the faintest brush of their lips. Stars still fall in Changbin’s peripheral as his eyes flutter shut, but he can’t bear to focus on anything but Seungmin.

“Can I kiss you?” cuts through the thick air surrounding them, but is barely audible above the cricket’s chirps.

Changbin hums, and Seungmin presses their lips together. Electricity still doesn’t crackle with the touch of their lips, but a slow, heavy warmth spreads into Changbin’s chest from his heart. It feels like he’s being burnt from the inside out with how it creeps into every open crevice of his body.

Seungmin kisses so unlike the overgrown puppy Changbin has come to associate with him. It sends Changbin reeling, and for a brief moment, he wonders who’s supposed to be the older, more experienced one here, especially when the younger is married to his work as an astronomer. It sends a shiver down Changbin’s spine.

Their lips remain locked for a little while longer, Seungmin having pulled the elder closer by his waist and letting his hand rest there, and Changbin gathering the courage to curl his fingers into his shirt collar and tug him closer. They eventually disconnect just as slowly as their lips had met, but their foreheads burn where they still touch.

Seungmin smiles. It’s impossible for Changbin to resist smiling in return.

“That was nice,” Changbin admits, feeling a bit like a fool until Seungmin agrees with a laugh. He pulls his face away then, and rests his head on the taller’s shoulders with their hands interlocked once more. “You are forgetting one thing too, actually.” Seungmin hums in question, so he continues. “You’re supposed to make a wish. Legends say that since there are so many stars, your wish is guaranteed to be granted by at least one of them.”

“Hmm, okay,” he says and his eyes flutter shut. Changbin follows suit.

Changbin racks his brain for a proper and worthwhile wish. He could wish for anything his heart desires; there are no laws governing the stars. He could wish for a raise in salary or a dinner in his honor, but none of those tug at his heart and call his name quite like the wish that flickers in his mind just for a second.

He wishes for Seungmin’s happiness.

“What did you wish for, Changbin?” Seungmin asks, poking at his shoulder. It makes his face heat up, so he laughs and swats his hand away.

“That’s none of your business.”

“I’ll tell you my wish,” Seungmin continues cheekily, lacing their fingers together once more. “If you want to hear, that is.”

Changbin can admit to himself, he is a little curious, especially if the younger is so forthcoming. He hums. Seungmin leans in until his lips are so close Changbin can feel his breath on his ears and a tickle on his neck.

“I wished for a certain palace guard to accept my request to officially court him,” he replies and pulls away to look at Changbin expectantly with a gorgeous smile.

The Starshower may be nearing its end, but the magic still hangs heavy in the air.

Changbin blushes so intensely he can imagine steam pouring from his ears. Of course, he isn’t so obtuse to think Seungmin is fooling around with Changbin. But to hear a direct request from the astronomer himself, bold and unapologetic, sends a wave of shock through Changbin that rattles his bones. The chest-filling warmth returns with a vengeance as blistering heat, melting Changbin’s insides until he’s a puddle.

He blinks at the intensity of his own monologue, realizing he has yet to give Seungmin an answer.

“Your wish is granted,” he breathes out shakily. “He accepts your formal courting request.”

Seconds later, he’s pulled into a bone-crushing hug while an excited laugh envelopes him. Seungmin invades every single one of his senses, refusing to leave in the same way Seungmin invaded his life all those moon cycles ago, crashing into his heart. He latched on like a briar, and Changbin knows now he’ll never leave. Dogs are loyal to a fault, after all. Changbin laughs at the thought.

Seungmin presses a wet, overeager kiss to his cheek.

Yeah, Changbin is definitely letting himself be courted by an overgrown dog pretending to be human, no doubt about it.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are always appreciated for validation purposes. <3 find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/sprbins)


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